Female Boxer Dies After Bout

CBS News ^ | 4/5/05

[Crackingham]

A woman who won a regional boxing title three years ago died from a head injury sustained in a Golden Gloves competition. She is believed to be the first woman to die in a sanctioned amateur match in the U.S.

Becky Zerlentes, 34, of Fort Collins died Sunday afternoon, said Howard Daniel of the Denver County coroner's office. A preliminary cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, but results from an autopsy conducted Monday were not immediately available.

Zerlentes was hit by a punch by her opponent, Heather Schmitz, and despite wearing protective headgear fell unconscious to the canvas during the third round of her match late Saturday, USA Boxing spokeswoman Julie Goldsticker.

The fatal blow, captured by CBS station KCNC-TV, shows a right hook landing on Zerlentes' left temple.

Ringside physicians jumped into the ring but Zerlentes never regained consciousness and died several hours later at a hospital.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Hollywood comes to life?

[csvset]

Getting punched in the head isn't a good thing, period.

[CzarNicky]

Involuntary euthanasia?

[sinanju]

I think it was an article I read in the Weekly Standard a few weeks ago, but the description of female boxing was incredibly ugly. There are like a handful of female boxers (Laila Ali and one or two others) who fight with any degree of skill (hollywood images aside). The rest just flail at each other. The ringside audiences are the ugliest part of the spectacle.

[stylin19a]

oh....thought it was a different boxer

[DTogo]

Another "equal opportunity for women" we can thank the FemiNazis for.

[FreedomSurge]

I think I heard about this. Didn't the trainer suffocate her after finding out she was going to be paralyzed?

[RockinRight]

Am I a horrible man for wondering what this chick looks like??

[connectthedots]

Evidence that men are more hard-headed than women.

[Lockbar]

"Am I a horrible man for wondering what this chick looks like??"


No, you are not a bad or horrible man. But I will admit that I myself am a horrible man, and I wonder what see looks like, too.

[RockinRight]

She could be hot or could be man-like...

[FormerLib]

[anonymous_user]

Am I a horrible man for wondering what this chick looks like??

Regardless, I'm sure she's unavailable.

[Puppage]

[Lekker 1]

Am I a horrible man for wondering what this chick looks like??

Nah, you are a horrible man for admitting it in mixed company.

[Billthedrill]

Boxing (or martial arts) with headgear has always had this issue - the padding does help with direct impact, but it adds to the moment of angular force when the blow is glancing and can actually make things worse. Unconsciousness (and death, and long-term injury) is caused by the breaking of capillaries as the brain actually moves with respect to its container.

Dumb sport - and I used to do it.

[Cicero]

Where was Clint Eastwood?

[Max in Utah]

The ringside audiences are the ugliest part of the spectacle.

I don't wonder... women beating on each other is something I've never cared to see, and I can't understand the type of people who would enjoy it.